Hopper outlet construction



Dem 9.1969 w. E. FRITZ 3,482,741

HOPPER OUTLET CONSTRUCTION Fi1ed Jan. 26, 1968 s Sheet s-Sheet 1 Dec. 9, 1969 w. E. FRITZ HOPPER OUTLET CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheefs-Sheet Filed Jan. 26, 1968 Dec. 9, 1969 w. E. FRITZ HOPPER OUTLET CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 26. 1968 United States Patent 3,482,741 HOPPER OUTLET CONSTRUCTION William E. Fritz, Clarendon Hills, 11]., assignor to Fabko Engineering Company, Inc., Clarendon Hills, 11]., a corporation of Illinois Filed Jan. 26, 1968, Ser. No. 700,765 Int. Cl. B67d 3/00 U.S. Cl. 222-554 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The inclined bottom members of a hopper discharge outlet have knife edges for juxtaposition with knife edges of an inverted V-shaped valve in closed position which also has second knife edges above and below the first mentioned knife edges along a portion of the valve and below and above the first mentioned knife edges to provide first and second alternate closed positions of the valve with corresponding first and second open positions.

This invention is an improvement over the construction in Fritz US. Patent 3,306,675, issued Feb. 28, 1967.

Among the objects of this invention are: To provide for the discharge of granular material from a railway hopper car or the like in such manner that it will fall freely and completely from the car; to arrange a valve for controlling the discharge which will not interfere with the free flow of the lading when it is in the open position; to construct the valve to permit partial opening along different portions and thereby selectivity of unloading of the lading, particularly in those instances where the pneumatic unloading system has limited vacuum capacity; to form an inverted V-shaped rotatable valve member with knife edges along the lower ends of the legs for juxtaposition with knife edges along the lower portions of inclined bottom members of a hopper outlet whereby, on rotation of the valve member to open positin, the lading can discharge freely; to provide additional edges above and below the knife edges along the lower ends of the inverted V-shaped valve member along one portion and below and above them along another portion whereby, on rotation of the valve member in one direction, it is partially opened along said one portion and, on rotation in the opposite direction, it is partially opened along the other portion; and to lock the valve member in closed position when caps for closing oif pneumatic discharge openings are in place.

According to the invention the inclined bottom members or floor plates of a lading discharging hopper outlet have knife edges along their lower ends for juxtaposition with knife edges along hte lower ends of the legs of an inverted V-shaped rotatable valve member. A trough like member interconnects the bottom members and underlies the valve member to receive the lading for pneumatic unloading. Along one portion of the valve member additional knife edegs are provided above and below the knife edges thereon for juxtaposition with the knife edges of the bottom members or floor plates in a first alternate valve closed position and similar knife edges are provided along the remaining portion of the valve member below and above the knife edges thereon for juxtaposition with the knife edges of the bottom members or floor plates in a second alternate valve closed position. The arrangement is such that, on rotation of the valve member in one direction, one portion of the valve member is open and the other portion is closed while, on rotation of the valve member in the opposite direction, the one portion of the valve member is closed and the other portion is opened. Discharge conduits are connected to the valve member for attachment to pneumatic unloading equipment. Caps close off the open ends of these conduits. Removable lockice ing links interconnect the caps and the hopper outlet to hold them and the valve member attached thereto against rotation in the valve closed position.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a hopper outlet for a railway hopper car or the like in which this invention is embodied.

FIG. 2 is a view, in end elevation, of the construction shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken generally along the line 33 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the inverted V-shaped valve means.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view, at an enlarged scale, taken generally along the line 55 of FIG. 3, and showing the valve means in the closed position.

FIG. 5A is a view similar to FIG. 5 but showing that portion of the valve means there illustrated in the open position.

FIG. 5B is a view, similar to FIG. 5, showing that portion of the valve means in an alternate closed position.

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken generally along the line 6-6 of FIG. 3 and at an enlarged scale showing the valve means in the closed position.

FIG. 6A is a view, similar to FIG. 6, but showing that portion of the valve means in an alternate closed position corresponding to the open position of the section of the valve means shown in FIG. 5A.

FIG. 6B is a view, similar to FIG. 6, showing that portion of the valve means in the open position and corresponding to the closed position of the other portion of the valve means as shown in FIG. 5B.

In FIGS. 1 and 2 a hopper outlet for a railway hopper car or the like is indicated, generally, at 10. It may be formed of aluminum, The hopper outlet 10 includes a flat marginal flange 11 that is arranged to be secured, as by bolts, to the underside of the open lower end of a hopper of a hopper car. Inclined hopper bottom members 12 extend toward each other from the marginal flange 11 and are interconnected by trough like means 13 to provide for pneumatic unloading. Inclined side sheets 14 extend downwardly from the sides of the marginal flange 11 and terminate in vertical side members 15 which are provided with openings 16 to permit pneumatic unloading. The hopper bottom members 12 terminate in knife edges 17 as shown more clearly in FIGS. 5 and 6. It will be understood that the knife edges 17 extend throughout the entire length of the lower portions of the inclined hopper bottom members 12. An important reason for employing the knife edges 17 and cooperating knife edges to be described on valve means is to permit the free flow of granular lading 20 which experience has indicated is not always obtainable in the construction disclosed in the above patent.

For controlling the flow of the granular lading 20 inverted V-shaped valve means 21, FIGS. 3- and 4, is provided. The valve 21 is arranged to be rotated about a horizontal axis 22 which is indicated in FIGS. 5 and 6. The valve means 21 is divided into a near section 23 and a far section 24 and provision is made for rotating the valve means 21 in one direction or the other to permit opening of either the near section 23 or the far section 24 to permit corresponding flows of the granular lading 20. One reason for employing this construction is to permit a partial opening of the valve means 21 which requires for pneumatic unloading a lesser capacity in the vacuum producing means than is required if the valve means 21 is opened throughout its entire length. However, it will be understood that provision can be made for opening the valve means 21 through its entire length if this is desired.

For descriptive purposes the inverted V-shaped valve means 21 is described as comprising a shorter leg 25 and a longer leg 26. The construction is illustrated in FIG. 5 and in reverse in FIG. 6. A knife edge 27 is formed on the shorter leg 25 and a knife edge 28 is formed on the longer leg 26. In FIG. 5 these edges are shown in juxtaposition to the knife edges 17 along the lower ends of the inclined hopper bottom members 12. This is the closed position of the valve means 21 for the near section 23 as well as for the far section 24 shown in FIG. 6. On the shorter leg 25 a second knife edge 29 is provided which is located above the knife edge 27. Likewise a second knife edge 30 is provided on the longer leg 26 below the knife edge 28.

Initially the inverted V-shaped valve means 21 is formed of an aluminum extrusion of a suitable length. Then it is cut to provide the near section 23 and the far section 24 with the latter being turned end to end and welded at 31 to the juxtaposed near section 23. This materially reduces the cost of construction of the inverted V-shaped valve means 21 and provides the various knife edges in the proper locations.

When it is desired to open the near section 23 of the valve means 21, it is rotated about the horizontal axis 22 in a clockwise direction through about As shown in FIG. 5A the knife edges 27 and 28 are separated from the knife edges 17 and the granular lading is allowed to flow downwardly into the trough like means 13 f r pneumatic unloading. At the same time, as shown in FIG. 6A, knife edges 29 and 30 move into juxtaposition with the knife edges 17 and thus far section 24 remains in the closed position.

When the granular lading 20 has been unloaded as far as possible through the near section 23 of the valve means, or it is desired to unload the granular lading 20 through the far section 24 of the valve means 21, the V-shaped valve means 21 is rotated in the opposite or counterclockwise direction to the position shown in FIGS. 5B and 6B. Here the near section 23 of the valve means 21 is closed off while the far section 24 is opened and the granular lading 20 can flow freely into the trough like means 13 therebelow.

For closing off the spaces above the legs 25 and 26 segmental closure plates 33 and 34 are welded to the ends thereof. Thus the space below the legs 25 and 26 and above the trough like means 13 is subject to the vaccum created by the pneumatic unloading means.

The inverted V-shaped valve means 21 is mounted for rotation about the horizontal axis 22 by the provision of sleeves 35 at each end. These sleeves can be formed of aluminum and at their inner ends are welded to the segmental closure plates 33 and 34 to provide a unitary structure. The sleeves 35 are telescoped within discharge conduits 36 which may be formed of stainless steel and are provided with discharge conduit extensions 37 one of which is shown in FIG. 3. It will be understood that both ends of the hopper outlet 10 are of identical construction. The discharge conduit extension 37 is secured, as by welding, to the end of each conduit36. In order to effect conjoint rotation of the sleeve 35 and conduit 36 together with the extension 37 a bolt 38, FIG. 3, extends inwardly through the conduit 36 into the sleeve 35. On removal of the bolt 38 it is possible to dismantle the inverted V-shaped valve means 21 together with the sleeves 35 from the hopper outlet 10. The inner end of each conduit 36 is journaled within a bearing ring 39 which is secured to the outer side of the respective vertical side members 15. The reduced diameter end 40 of each conduit 36 has between it and the bearing ring 39 an antifriction ring 41 of suitable plastic material such as nylon. A sealing O-ring 42 of neoprene or the like provides an effective seal against the entrance of air between the outer surface of the conduit 36 and the inner surface of the bearing ring 39. For manually rotating the valve means 21 and parts rotatable therewith diametrically oppositely extending handles 43 are employed, They are 4 secured as by welding at their inner ends to opposite sides of the conduit 36.

For closing off the discharge end of each of the extensions 37 a closure cap 44 is employed. As shown in FIG. 3 the closure cap 44 is telescoped over the respective extension 37 and bears against a gasket 45 which overlies a clamping plate 46 which is secured, as by welding, to the inner end of each extension 37. Outwardly extending ears 49 on opposite sides of each closure cap 44 cooperate with locking bolts 50 and eye nuts 51 for holding each closure cap 44 in place under pressure against the respective gasket 45. The locking bolts 50 are pivoted at 52 to ears 53 which are suitably secured to the ends of the clamping plate 46.

In order to lock the V-shaped valve means 21 against rotation from the valve closed position an L-shaped bracket 54 is provided on each closure cap 44 as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. By means of a bolt 55 extending through a slot 56 in a locking link 57, rotation of the assembly is prevented. The other end of the locking link 57 is suitably secured to the under side of the margina flange 11. For illustrative purposes a bolt 58 is shown for this purpose. However, it will be understood that, when the hopper outlet 10 is mounted on the under side of the hopper of a railway car or the like, the bolt 58 would extend through a cooperating flange thereon.

In order to unload the hopper outlet 10 pneumatically both of the closure caps 44 are removed. The eye nuts 51 are loosened to permit the locking bolts 50 to be swung away so that the closure caps 44 can be swung to one side with the links 57.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A hopper outlet for downwardly discharging lading such as granular material and the like comprising a pair of hopper bottom members inclined toward each other and terminating in knife edges at their horizontally parallel spaced apart lower ends,

inverted V-shaped valve means rotatable about a horizontal axis between said lower ends of said hopper bottom members and terminating in knife edges at their hoizontally parallel spaced apart lower ends,

means for rotating said valve means about said horizontal axis to shift said valve means from a valve closed position in which said knife edges are juxtaposed to a valve open position in which said knife edges are spaced apart,

said lower ends of said inverted V-shaped valve means along one portion thereof each having a second knife edge one above and the other below the respective knife edges on said hopper bottom members when said valve means is in said closed position to provide a first alternate closed position, and

said lower ends of said inverted V-shaped valve means along another portion thereof each having a sec nd knife edge one below and the other above the respective knife edges on said hopper bottom members when said valve means is in said closed position to provide a second alternate closed position,

whereby, when said valve means is rotated in one direction to said first alternate closed position, said other portion of said valve means is in open position, and when said valve means is rotated in the opposite direction to saidsecond alternate closed position, said one portion ofsaid valve means is in open position.

2. The hopper outlet according to claim 1 wherein trough like means interconnect said lower ends of said v hopper bottom members to receive said lading,

a discharge conduit is connected to and is rotatable with each end of said valve means for attachment to pneumatic unloading means,

a removable cap closes each discharge conduit, and

a locking link is connected to each cap to hold the same against rotation and said valve member in closed position.

3. A hopper outlet for downwardly discharging lading means interconnecting said discharge conduit and the such as granular material and the like comprising respective sleeve therein.

a pair of hopper bottom members inclined toward 4. The hopper outlet according to claim 3 wherein each other and terminating in knife edges at their a clamping plate is secured to said other end of each horizontally parallel spaced apart lower ends, 5 discharge conduit, and

inverted V-shaped valve means rotatable about a horia closure cap for each discharge conduit is detachably zontal axis between said lower ends of said hopper secured to each clamping plate. bottom members and terminating in knife edges at 5. The hopper outlet according to claim 4 wherein a their horizontally parallel spaced apart lower ends, locking link interconnects each closure cap and said means for rotating said valve means about said hori- 1O hopper outlet to hold said closure cap and said valve zontal axis to shift said valve means from a valve member against rotation. closed position in which said knife edges are juxta posed to a valve open position in which said knife References Cited edges are spaced apart,

said hopper outlet including a pair of apertured end 1 UNITED STATES PATENTS members interconnecting said hopper bottom mem- 1,075,495 /1913 Reeder 105283 bers, 2,662,545 12/1953 Kelley 251-305 X a bearing ring extending laterally outwardly from each 2,950,144 8/1960 Dorey 302-52 end member around the respective aperture, 3,174,807 3/1965 Adler 302-52 a discharge conduit rotatably mounted at one end in each bearing ring and extending outwardly there- ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner fi'lom with handle means at the other end for rotating HADD LANE Assistant Examiner t e same, a sleeve telescoped within each discharge conduit and U S C1 X R secured at one end to the juxtaposed end of said valve means, and 280, 283; 215309; 30252 

